Brad Lander: Andrew Cuomo is Unfit to Be Mayor
Disgraced former governor is corrupt, mismanaged the City & governed like a Republican
Lander: I’m running to bring back public integrity, strong leadership & a love of NYC to make it safer, more affordable and better run
Watch his response video and today’s recorded press conference (uploaded shortly)
NEW YORK, NY — In response to Andrew Cuomo’s entrance into the NYC mayoral campaign, to avenge his near-impeachment for sexually harassing 13 women – and making COVID decisions that killed seniors in nursing homes (and lying about it) – Brad Lander today laid out several disqualifying reasons why Cuomo is unfit to be Mayor. The disgraced former governor is highly corrupt, mismanaged (and harmed) the City, and governed like a Republican.
“At a time when we all want to turn the page on endless chaos, Andrew Cuomo’s scandals, corruption, and disregard for our City except for when it serves his personal ambitions, are literally the last thing New Yorkers want to replace Eric Adams,” Lander said. “I will not only beat him, but will bring back real leadership and public integrity to deliver the safer and more affordable city New Yorkers deserve.”
While there are dozens of reasons Cuomo is unfit to be Mayor, Lander today focused on three core areas:
Corrupt: As governor, Cuomo’s disastrous handling of COVID by ordering COVID-infected seniors back into nursing homes not only led to the deaths of thousands of New Yorkers, but he went further to hide the damning nursing home death numbers to save his image and land a $5 million book deal (which he then had his taxpayer-funded staff write for him). He then lied about it all to Congress, and received a referral for criminal prosecution. In addition, he has now bilked New York taxpayers to the tune of over $28 million to defend his personal lawsuits for sexually harassing 13 women, using it to probe the gynecological records of his accusers. Cuomo also had his inner circle sent to prison for public corruption, and has sued to shut down New York’s anti-corruption board in order to evade further accountability.
Mismanaged the City: Cuomo has not lived in NYC for decades, which might explain why his record as governor was so anti-New York City, fighting us at every turn and cutting funding for every facet of New York City public schools, mental health services, hospitals, and even the MTA. It was Cuomo’s grave mismanagement and carelessness that brought us the “Summer of Hell” where the subway system was so abominable, there were 70,000 delays a month, causing lost wages from tardiness and missed medical appointments. The reason? Cuomo cut funds to the agency over and over again, and the expert brought in to fix the subways, Andy Byford, said the biggest obstacle he faced were Cuomo’s ego and red tape. His deliberate decisions to gut mental health services also helped cause the dire situation on our streets and subways that afflicts New York to this day.
Governed like a Republican: As governor, Cuomo filled the top ranks of his administration with Republican operatives, including his budget director, chief of staff, deputy chief of staff, and senior advisor – all Republicans. He secretly brokered a deal to overturn the will of the voters and install Republican leadership of the state senate, so he did not have to pass measures favored by the Democrats (or New York City). And his brainchild, the Independent Democratic Coalition (IDC), was bashed by Planned Parenthood NYC Votes for blocking key measures to protect abortion rights in New York. In addition, Cuomo routinely fought with the top Democratic elected officials in New York, while joining up with Chris Christie to undermine President Obama’s leadership and mismanage the Ebola crisis.
“Andrew Cuomo is for himself and only himself, and is hoping New Yorkers will forget his disastrous record for our city of endless scandals, destroying the subway, and cutting basic services,” Lander continued. “The good news is we will end the Adams-Cuomo nightmare of corruption and chaos, and finally send both to their retirement.”
###